Todd G. Higdon: Good luck in the new year

Monday

Dec 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 31, 2007 at 2:04 PM

As I am writing this column, the countdown is on to ring in a New Year. Growing up, I, like others, would try to stay up and watch Dick Clark’s “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” bash from Times Square in New York. There were times that I had wished I could be there, but then it was better from the comfort of my own home. Over the years, I have seen people being proposed to on that show to getting married to various bands playing and even the big ball dropping.

Todd G. Higdon

As I am writing this column, the countdown is on to ring in a New Year. Growing up, I, like others, would try to stay up and watch Dick Clark’s “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” bash from Times Square in New York. There were times that I had wished I could be there, but then it was better from the comfort of my own home. Over the years, I have seen people being proposed to on that show to getting married to various bands playing and even the big ball dropping.

So as we all watch the big ball drop, remember to make some New Year’s resolutions.

But in order to do that, one has to eat black-eyed peas.

The tradition of “good luck” dates back to the Civil War. Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, would typically strip the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock and destroy whatever they couldn’t carry away. During that time, Northerners considered “field peas” and corn suitable only for animal fodder, and as a result, didn’t steal or destroy these humble foods.
Many Southerners survived as a result of this mistake.

Now I must confess, I really don’t like these peas, but for the past 18 years, I have eaten some of them. For example, one year, I counted out 12 black-eyed peas (representing on each pea a month’s worth of good luck). Or, another time, I ate 52 peas, representing 52 weeks of the year. But I have never eaten just a can full of them. Who knows, maybe this year?

In closing, remember to have a safe New Year’s Eve. If you are going out, drink responsibly, hand over the car keys to a designated driver and arrive alive to your home.